TODAY’S GAME
The Rangers will face off against the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden (12:00 p.m. ET — TV: NBC; Radio: ESPN 98.7), in Game 2 of their Metropolitan Division Semifinals matchup. The Blueshirts defeated the Flyers, 4-1, in Game 1 on Thursday night to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. New York enters tomorrow’s contest with a 214-233-8 record all-time in 455 playoff contests (121-89-2 at home; 93-144-6 on the road).
The Rangers entered the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the second seed in the Metropolitan Division, having posted a 45-31-6 record (20-17-4 at home; 25-14-2 on the road) for 96 points. The Blueshirts are one of four teams, along with Detroit, Pittsburgh, and San Jose, to make the playoffs in eight of the last nine years.

ALL-TIME PLAYOFF RECORDS – RANGERS vs. FLYERS
The Rangers and Flyers are meeting in the playoffs for the 11th time, and the first time since the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals. The Rangers have posted a 4-6 playoff series record against Philadelphia, and following Game 1 of this series, are 21-27 in 48 playoff contests against the Flyers. The Blueshirts have faced the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs on five occasions, and have a 3-2 playoff series record in those matchups. The Rangers defeated the Flyers in Game 1 of a playoff series for the fourth time in franchise history. New York is 2-1 in the three previous playoff series in which they won the series opener against Philadelphia.

RANGERS vs. FLYERS:
• All-Time: 121-111-37-7 overall (64-47-23-4 at home; 57-64-14-3 on the road)
• 2013-14: New York was 2-2-0 overall (2-0-0 at home; 0-2-0 on the road). Derick Brassard tied for the series lead with two goals, while Brad Richards tallied three points (one goal, two assists) and led all skaters with 18 shots on goal. The Rangers allowed two goals or fewer in three of the four contests, including one goal in each of the two games at MSG. Henrik Lundqvist posted a 2-1-0 record with a 2.03 GAA and a .940 SV%.
• The Rangers have won nine consecutive games (regular season and playoffs) against Philadelphia at MSG, dating back to Mar. 6, 2011, and have outscored the Flyers, 35-10, over the span
• New York has allowed two goals or fewer in each of the last nine home games against Philadelphia, and in 15 of the last 18 overall contests against the Flyers
• New York was 20-17-4 at home during the regular season; Philadelphia was 18-16-7 on the road
• New York lists one former Flyer on its roster: Daniel Carcillo (2008-09 – 2010-11)
• Philadelphia lists one former Ranger on its roster: Adam Hall (2006-07)

DYNAMIC DUO
Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis combined for five points (one goal, four assists) in Game 1 against Philadelphia. Richards and St. Louis have tallied 11 and nine points, respectively, in eight career playoff games against the Flyers (seven in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals and Game 1 on Thursday). In Game 1, St. Louis assisted on a Richards goal for the first time in a playoff game since Apr. 16, 2007 – Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals – vs. New Jersey, when the two were teammates with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

HOME ICE
The Rangers have home-ice advantage in a playoff series for the fourth time in the last three seasons, and the first time since the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012 vs. New Jersey. Following their win on Thursday, the Blueshirts are 10-4 in their last 14 Game 1s at MSG. New York has won seven of the last eight playoff series in which they had home-ice advantage.

FAST START
The Rangers are 32-12 all-time in playoff series when winning Game 1, and have a 21-6 record in playoff series when they won Game 1 at home.

KING HENRIK
Henrik Lundqvist established two franchise records during the 2013-14 season, becoming the Rangers’ all-time wins leader with his 302nd career victory on Mar. 18 at Ottawa, and the team’s all-time shutouts leader with his 50th career shutout on Mar. 22 at New Jersey. The Rangers goaltender also became the first goalie to win at least 30 games in eight of his first nine NHL seasons. Last season, Lundqvist moved into second place on the Rangers’ all-time playoff appearances and wins list in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on May 23, 2013 vs. Boston.

MOVING ON UP
Dan Girardi played in his 65th career playoff game on Thursday, tying Jean Ratelle and Jim Neilson for 12th on the Rangers’ all-time playoff games played list. Girardi is three games away from moving into the top 10 on the all-time list:

SHUTTING THE DOOR
The Rangers ranked first in the NHL in and established a single-season franchise record for games in which they allowed one or fewer goals (31). New York posted a 28-2-1 record when allowing one goal or fewer. The Blueshirts also allowed two goals or fewer in 49 games this season. New York ranked fourth in the NHL in goals against per game this season (2.32).

RICK ROLLING
Rick Nash tallied his ninth game-winning goal of the season on Apr. 10 vs. Buffalo, tying Mark Messier, Jaromir Jagr, Don Maloney, Brad Richards, and Ryan Callahan for the franchise record for game-winning goals in one season. Nash tied for third in the NHL in GWG and led the Rangers in goals (26) this season.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Rangers posted a 25-14-2 record on the road this season, including a 23-8-2 record in their final 33 road contests. The Blueshirts established a franchise record for road wins in one season with their 25th of the year on Apr. 1 at Vancouver. The Rangers are the only team to win at least 24 road games in three of the last four seasons. The Blueshirts led the Eastern Conference in road wins, and were only one of three teams to record at least 25 road wins this season. The Rangers posted two separate six-game road winning streaks this season for the first time in franchise history. The Blueshirts’ 52 road points this season rank second in franchise history (2011-12 – 53).

Happy Easter, guys. I also told this to the cottontails and squirrels this morning. Sad to see that Seabrook hit to Backes head. As I’ve said before, the player initiating it should be suspended without pay for the same length of time the injured player is unable to play.